Probe: No asbestos or lead paint in LHA units during rehab

By Lyle Moran, lmoran@lowellsun.com

Updated:
10/06/2012 06:37:46 AM EDT

LOWELL -- The FBI and state Inspector General Office's joint investigation of the Lowell Housing Authority's recent North Common Village renovations has determined no asbestos or lead paint was present or removed during the project.

The agencies probed allegations that asbestos and lead paint had been removed in the rehabbed units without the proper permits and disposed of illegally. The FBI and the Inspector General's Office began their investigation in February.

The results of the probe were released in a letter Inspector General Glenn Cunha sent to LHA Executive Director Gary Wallace on Tuesday. City Manager Bernie Lynch was copied on the letter. The newspaper obtained a copy of it on Friday.

The investigation found that both asbestos and lead paint were removed prior to the renovations of 132 units that began in 2008 and continued until 2011.

The FBI and the Inspector General's Office reached their conclusion after conducting several interviews, reviewing numerous documents and retaining an independent expert to test material "that allegedly came from NCV and that allegedly contained asbestos."

"Based on this investigation, the (Office of the Inspector General) concludes that the allegations of illegal removal and disposal of asbestos at the NCV complex have no evidentiary basis," Cunha wrote.

Former Building Commissioner Robert Camacho raised the possibility of asbestos or lead paint being present in the units last January.

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He said based on the age of the buildings of the village, which was built more than 70 years ago, he would assume the units contained both asbestos and lead paint.

Soon after, the City Council unanimously passed Councilor Rodney Elliott's motion directing Lynch to have the proper government agencies determine if any asbestos or lead paint was present during the LHA's renovations.

Wallace and Lynch did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

Elliott said Friday he raised the questions about asbestos because the issue was brought to him by a number of people involved with the rehab project. He said his concern all along was for the LHA workers and residents who may have been exposed to the carcinogen.

"If the LHA had notified the proper state agencies about the project and done testing before the demolition began, the asbestos and lead paint questions would have been answered years ago," Elliott said. "Before the LHA embarks on the next phase of demolition and construction, I hope they follow the law and conduct testing of material before demolition and removal rather than after the fact."

Councilor Ed Kennedy said Friday he was glad to hear there was no asbestos or lead paint in the units, but said he also is pleased the matter was thoroughly investigated.

"If you have a former city building commissioner alleging the same thing as you have heard and doing it on the radio and talking to the newspaper, you have an obligation to ask the city to look into it," Kennedy said. "I thought what Rodney did was perfectly fine and this should have been something the LHA looked into itself without needing Rodney's prompting."

Camacho did not respond to a request for comment.

It is unclear whether the materials the Inspector General's Office and FBI had tested were from North Common units that were already rehabbed or units waiting to be rehabbed. Jack Meyers, a senior analyst in the Inspector General's Office, declined to elaborate beyond what is stated in the letter.

The FBI and the Inspector General's Office concluded the evidence indicates the asbestos at North Common was removed by the Northern Asbestos Abatement Company in the late 1980s. Also, the investigation found that lead was removed and disposed of properly in late 1999 and 2000 in all 536 North Common units.

The investigation's finding on asbestos came about six weeks after a report from the state Department of Labor Standards said it is unclear if asbestos, which can cause cancer, was present during the LHA renovations.

The state Department of Labor Standards determined the LHA violated regulations designed to protect workers and occupants of the dwellings. The LHA also failed to test for asbestos before renovation/demolition activities or to notify the state such work was set to take place in the units, according to the report. The notification violations could lead to a fine.

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